BLCA c23s02
Text Celestia awoke silently, blearily, in a circle of red runes, in a stone, empty room. Pain ached through her entire body, and her mane had lost all its color, once nothing but ivory locks that cascaded down along her neck and shoulders. Her tail hung limply as well, and the equine shivered a little as she stood up and rubbed slowly at her aching skull. She looked down at the runic circle beneath her, studying it, but her vision was bleary and her head hurt too much to make much sense of anything. The chamber she was in was windowless, the single door leading out steel, there was no visible source of light... and yet there was light all the same, a faint glow pulsing seemingly in the air itself. It was enough to see by, as she hesitantly stood... then shivered a bit and glanced down, breathing hard as she reached nervously up again and touched her head. This time, her hoof brushed against the base of her horn... and she frowned a bit, stroking her hoof up along it, realizing it felt... numb. She leaned forwards, concentrating... and although it hurt so badly she fell back on her haunches and a wrench of nausea rolled through her stomach, her horn lit up with a golden glow for a few moments before sputtering out. She slowly dropped back on her stomach, breathing hard and then grimacing a little as she realized there was splatters of dried blood over the floor as well... but she couldn't concentrate. Couldn't remember much, apart from the fact she had held a conversation... deeply important on her way back to Enstasis. That Luna was angry, and sad, but determined... and the ivory equine shivered a bit before she looked up as the door opened and Scrivener Blooms leaned in, then smiled a little. "You're awake. Good. Luna will be here shortly, she's just making sure we put your horn in a safe place for now, while we prepare the next ritual." "Wait, what? But..." Celestia frowned up at him, and Scrivener gazed at her softly as the ivory equine attempted to look up, whispering in denial: "But my horn..." "May I?" Scrivener asked quietly, stepping forwards... and Celestia stared at him for a moment, drawing her eyes over him. The half-pony, half-wyrm shape, but much of it veiled by the black cloak he had taken to wearing that covered his forelimbs and much of his body... a black cloak splattered with stains of blood. The chestnut eyes behind glasses with false lenses, disarming despite his size... despite the claws visible instead of hooves sticking out of the sleeves of the cloak, and the long, serpentine tail that twisted out of the back of it, and the exposed, scaled haunch... She shivered for a moment, leaning forwards and feeling ill, and Scrivener leaned down and frowned a bit, asking quietly: "Are you alright? Do you want me to numb you?" "You're a monster." Celestia whispered, but there was no venom in her tone, no hatred, not even any resentment, and Scrivener smiled faintly before he nodded slowly once, and the ivory equine's amethyst eyes glimmered. "You and sister... you did take my horn. But you replaced it..." "Of course we did, sister." Scrivener said gently, and he reached forwards, quietly brushing Celestia's mane back from her eyes as he looked at her with kindness, with softness, with affection. "Luna and I would never want to leave you... incapacitated in any way. We care about you, deeply. So we gave you the best we had available." Celestia shivered at this, and Scrivener smiled softly down at her as he slowly brushed her mane back again as the crystalline, almost-transparent white horn shimmered faintly. The tip was rounded, thickening towards the base, not as long as her old horn had been, and around the bottom of the horn was a circular, tight leather holster, stitching securely holding this down in place against her skull. The very base of the prosthetic was cemented into the empty base that had been left behind after they had removed her horn and its roots. "You'll feel better as you adjust. It shouldn't be as hard for you as it was for Cowlick, at least... you have a natural horn-base. I did too, you know, at least when I was a pony... I was a hornless unicorn, remember, not just an earth pony." The ivory winged unicorn only stared up at Scrivener wordlessly, and then he glanced over his shoulder with a smile as the door pushed all the way open and Luna strode inside, smiling lovingly as she whispered: "Big sister... oh, 'tis so good to see thee recovering so fast! I fear that Scrivy and I cannot tarry long, the ritual my servants are preparing must be completed quickly... but come, we shall guide thee to thy quarters. Can thou stand?" Celestia only shivered in the runic circle as memories flashed back... of Scrivener Blooms and Luna standing over her, the two Moon Blessed Ross and Cowlick nearby with matching, calm smiles on their faces, and Nightmares of enormous size standing eagerly nearby. All clustered in this little room, her laying in the circle, feeling her strength sapped from her body, feeling herself being numbed, both of them making promise after promise to her as she had descended into darkness... She groaned quietly, and Luna nodded slowly, glancing towards Scrivener and saying gently: "Numb her, husband. Then we'll carry her to her room, and she may rest." "N-No, I'm... I can walk." Celestia whispered, and she shook her head, shivering a bit as she carefully pushed herself to her hooves, trembling a little. She began to stumble, but in a moment, Scrivy was beside her, catching her against his strong body as Luna hurried to her other side, and Celestia bowed her head forwards, murmuring: "You didn't kill me..." "Sister, I could never kill thee... never, ever." Luna sounded almost hurt, but she tried to smile faintly all the same before sighing softly, and Scrivener nodded as he carefully dropped low. Celestia grimaced, then flushed deeply as Luna half-pushed her older sister gently to slip onto Scrivener, before the male grunted as he stood up with an easy flex of his limbs. "Do not overexert thyself... thou art injured, and not thinking straight. I know... this will be a difficult period of adjustment." Celestia half-clung to Scrivener's back, her lower lip trembling, feeling weak and helpless and scared and a thousand other things she didn't want to feel as Luna strode out into the hall first, and Scrivener followed second, easily carrying the enormous equine on his broad back as Luna continued quietly: "But thou shalt adjust... and it will please thee to know that after I sent two Nightmares to ensure Twilight was safe, I ordered the rest of my servants out of Ponyville. Twilight herself is currently resting at our old home in the Everfree Forest, where she will be secure... the Nightmares have agreed to guard her there, and give her time to think. But she is safe, I wish to stress that, so thou does not stress in worrying for her." "I... I am glad then." Celestia whispered, looking down and trembling a little as she clung to Scrivener's back, then she closed her eyes and dropped her head against the back of Scrivener's neck, wanting to sob, to cry, to scream... but most of all, wanting to sleep, to feel the embrace of nothing but darkness around her before she gave a weak, ironic laugh. Luna looked at her curiously, but Celestia only shook her head in response, and the dark-coated winged unicorn hesitated before saying quietly: "I have asked my Moon Blessed to look after thee. Ross and Cowlick were friends, were they not? And they still can be and still are." She smiled encouragingly, looking across at her sister, but Celestia only shivered disconsolately against Scrivener's back. "I also shall put my Greater Nightmares at thy disposal, unless thou would protest." But Celestia gave no response, only shrugging a little as she closed her eyes, and Luna frowned a bit at this, then shook her own head and murmured soothingly: "Celestia, all shall be alright. Scrivener and I... we are truly indebted to thee for this gesture. We are honored by it, and humbled by thy commitment to thy people-" "They aren't my people. They're just... ponies. I thought... it would make a difference..." Celestia sighed quietly, shivering a little against Scrivener's back. "I never have made a difference, have I? I just... caged them. Protected them, yes, but a cage is a cage and they all thought they would have me to depend on forever and..." "Celestia, you're not thinking straight. You're badly injured, you have no energy right now, you need to recover your strength and concentrate on healing. Your gesture tonight was heroic, though..." Scrivener soothed, looking ahead down the dark-stone hall and nodding slowly as Luna smiled encouragingly at her sister. "You saved them. Whether or not they deserved to be saved, you gave yourself up to us... to save them. It's enough to make Luna and I bow our heads to your opinion, your requests... it's why we withdrew our servants from Ponyville, even from much of Equestria, asking them to stay out of towns if the towns didn't want them there. "I really am impressed, and... deeply honored, that it's your horn I'm receiving." Scrivener continued gently, and Celestia felt nausea roll through her system even as she listened with sick fascination. "I hope your nobility and your sense of honor will rub off on me, because... Luna and I have been thinking, now that we have this castle, our Moon Blessed, our Greater Nightmares and many other things... and we think maybe we have been giving in too much to our desires. But now that we have this horn... we're going to take things slower, more consideringly. We're going to try and stay to ourselves here in Enstasis, and forget the past, leave Ponyville alone. Leave all of Equestria alone... it's your daylit kingdom, after all." "They won't take me back, Scrivener. My life was forfeited to you and my sister..." Celestia shook her head slowly, bowing her head against the back of the male's neck as she whispered: "If they hurt Twilight after I saved them all, tried to save her... what did I really accomplish?" Scrivener and Luna fell silent until they reached a set of enormous golden doors, and Luna opened these with a flick of her horn, Scrivener carrying Celestia into halls beyond that almost glowed, lit by beautiful, ornate silver lamps that hung from the ceiling above. The walls and floor were made of ivory marble, the design regal and gorgeous as Scrivener headed up a short flight of stairs and through an open, crimson door into a circular, spacious room, red curtains pulled over an enormous set of windows that gazed out towards Ponyville in the far distance, a huge, circular bed with a bevy of cushions and blankets dominating the center of the room. Scrivener and Luna helped Celestia into this, the white winged unicorn doing little to move herself as Luna frowned deeper and Scrivener grimaced a bit. Celestia only laid on her side on the bed, her eyes closed, her head resting just beneath the pillows before Luna sighed softly and said quietly: "Sister..." Celestia didn't respond, only closing her eyes slowly, and Luna and Scrivener traded a look before Luna finally shrugged a bit and leaned down. She gently kissed her sister's cheek, and Scrivy leaned in a moment later, repeating the affection before he took a slow inhale, then breathed a stream of sapphire mist out over Celestia's features. She trembled a bit, but neither moved nor fought the effects as she breathed the blue smoke in, feeling it numbing her mind, lethargy and a faint wisp of longing overtaking her as she slowly fell into sleep. Luna and Scrivener stood for a little while over her, gazing down at the ivory equine before the dark-coated winged unicorn grimaced and turned, murmuring: "She has made her choice, beloved. She chose them... and now fears they will reject her. 'Tis funny, isn't it... especially with how when I look at her, I think that most of all she longs to be part of our family. Part of us... thou, and I, and Twilight." Scrivener only nodded slowly, then he turned and fell into step beside Luna as they exited the bedroom and strode down the steps as the female continued quietly: "I pity her. I feel such sympathy and love for her, I truly do... and I feel bad for taking her horn, but the example must be made clear, and we must show that we will not give quarter not special treatment to anyone, be they pony, friend, foe, or otherwise." The male grunted and nodded, and then Luna smiled as they exited the private quarters, halting for a moment outside the golden doors as she added gently: "And sister was right, as well... what better horn than hers? I would give thee mine own if I could, but thou will not take it... her horn is the next best choice by far. Thou art already powerful... and in this past year, as we practiced and developed thine abilities, and as we finally got thee to take to the air, great miserable coward, we have become... unstoppable. This horn... this horn will guarantee we are supreme. And when we are supreme..." "We can have everything we want. Although since we already do, I suppose that means a lot of sitting back and simply..." Scrivener paused, his eyes roving upwards as he smiled at the Moon Blessed striding down the hall towards them, licking his lips slowly. "Enjoying." "Now, now, Scrivener. We're here to help Celestia, not you." Cowlick said mildly, grinning despite herself as her blue eyes gleamed with vitality and strength. A white, spiraled horn stood up from her head: in reality a prosthetic, but it worked almost as well as Ross's, and was sheathed in an enamel that made it look like the real thing instead of crystal as she bowed her head towards him, the golden piercings that adorned her ears, her nose, and one eyebrow glinting as her messy auburn mane fell around her ivory features. "You'll have to wait until later." "But don't worry. We always have you both in mind." Ross added softly, very different from the pony he had once been, his voice cultured and strong and intelligent as his amber eyes almost glowed. He smiled over at Cowlick, reaching a hoof out to touch hers gently, and she looked back at him lovingly as he added quietly: "I want to thank you again for bringing my beloved into our fold. For letting us serve you, and letting us stay together." "Yes, I've grown to like this a lot. There's a lot of responsibilities, many commitments... but so much pleasure, and now I'm able to do so much more than I ever could in the past..." Cowlick added softly, stretching her wings out and admiring them before she bowed her head respectfully to Luna and Scrivener as they smiled benevolently down at her. "I've gotten used to not having as many memories anymore, to things being a little... numb. It's a blessing, not a curse. Although it's annoying that I have to share every last goddamn little thing with you both and Ross isn't as cute as he used to be." Scrivener laughed quietly and Luna rolled her eyes with a sigh, but she was smiling as well before she said mildly: "Well, worry not. Thou does make it tempting to erase thy mind entirely sometimes, Cowlick, but... I like thee the way thou art. And Ross is Ross, articulate or not." "Ross is Ross." the male Moon Blessed agreed, smiling, and then he hesitated for a moment before asking curiously: "Are you sure you want us to look after Celestia when you're both going to be... under the weather for a little while?" "Yes, Ross, thou hast my thanks for the concern but Celestia is more important to attend to now than us." Luna bowed her head politely, and then she glanced at Scrivener, adding mildly: "And upon that note, we had best depart. The ritual by now has likely been prepared and 'tis important it is not delayed. Remember, treat Celestia as thou would treat myself or Scrivener, understood?" Both Moon Blessed bowed their heads respectfully, and Scrivener and Luna smiled before turning around and heading calmly down the hall. As they walked, Luna smiled wider, gazing towards Scrivy and saying softly: "Remember how she used to treat us, Scrivener? So angry with us despite us fulfilling her wish, doing what was necessary to save precious Ross... but after she became Moon Blessed... after a day or two of understanding the world from her new perspective... she understood. She became thankful, and kind, and willing to do her duties without complaint. They adore us." "In the past I would have questioned the morality of it, argued with you if only for the sake of argument... but now... I like it. I see myself, how this is good. Sure, we skirt morality... but she's happy. Comfortable. Strong. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, is there?" Scrivener smiled himself, nodding to her and making Luna gaze up at him adoringly, the black pearl glinting in her melded collar. "And we can make more... and with Cowlick one of us, she's so eager to help, to design better things for us, to see Enstasis the very best it can be..." "Truly it is a blessing. Truly we are blessed, despite... losing Ponyville, we will gain so much more... and one day, Ponyville will understand. For now, I know, contentment and control. Mastering our desires as we achieve our dreams and aspirations." Luna replied softly, nodding as they stepped onto a curving staircase heading down. "Oh, handsome master Scrivener Blooms..." "Beautiful goddess Luna Brynhild." Scrivy replied tenderly, his eyes almost glowing behind his glasses, and Luna looked at him adoringly as they made their way down the steps and through the castle of dark desire. Demons and servants of shadow passed them, bowing their heads respectfully to the two who had eyes only for one-another, striding their way towards what felt like the first step towards a much-greater destiny. It wasn't long before they stepped into the enormous courtyard at the center of Enstasis known as the Garden: a massive, hundred foot wide rectangle almost double that distance in length, the ceiling high above enormous and curved like that of some immense cathedral. Enormous supports ran along this roof, many of them sparking with powerful magic that added to their strength and stability: directly above this courtyard, after all, stood the central spire of Enstasis, and the massive, octagonal tower needed all the additional support it could get. The Garden itself was floored with the fertile, dark soil that Scrivener's presence in full Tyrant Wyrm shape created, and beautiful ivy crawled up along the stone walls, majestic dark blue and black blooms growing along these thorny tapers. Other flowers and blossoms of white, ebony, and dark azure swayed here and there over the ground, and Scrivy smiled slightly through the wide field: there were brambles and other ivies as well, and only part of the field had been cleared, he saw... the very center, where a circle of ornate runes had been traced in blood and gray ash along the dark ground, where four enormous Nightmares stood. They were Greater Nightmares: imbued with Luna's magic, they did not fear the sun or the day, and were more powerful than their 'younger siblings,' as they often called them. They all bowed their heads respectfully as Scrivener strode calmly into the circle and laid himself down while Luna sat at the outer edge, asking her servants gently: "Are we ready to begin?" "Yes, Mistress." one of the Greater Nightmares murmured, and Luna smiled as another slipped out of the way to reveal an ornate silver chest secured by a heavy lock. "As you requested, we brought it here immediately..." "Good." Luna smiled slightly, only needing to concentrate slightly as her horn glowed, and the chest clicked several times before the lid opened, a burst of steam hissing up from inside and a rack filled with dangerous-looking tools popping upwards before a horn that was dripping with red liquid lifted from the depths of the chest, Luna saying softly: "Celestia still lives, and the horn can sense this... but it has been soaked in my husband's blood, and thus has begun to 'sense' him as well, so to speak. It will recognize him as its new master soon enough..." She licked her lips slowly as Scrivener smiled slightly over his shoulder at Luna, and she sat back on her haunches, gazing down at him lovingly as he rested inside the circle before her eyes roved up to the Greater Nightmares, ordering calmly: "I shall feel my husband's pain during this process, even with these runes muting and disrupting our link, even with him under lethargy from thy magic. Do not halt thy work no matter what happens, understood? Not until the horn is safely and securely set in Scrivener's skull." The servants of darkness nodded, then all four bowed their heads, and Luna stepped back with a warm, affectionate smile down to Scrivener Blooms as the runic circle began to glow, the male's breath catching in his throat as he felt waves of tiredness begin to spread through his form, gazing lovingly, trustingly at Luna for a few more moments before he began to settle slowly to the ground. Pain sizzled along his spine and through his limbs, and yet he barely noticed... what he was aware of most was excitement, even as the strength was sapped from him, as a dullness pervaded his senses and even breathing started to grow difficult. Luna swayed slowly on her haunches, breathing hard herself as she fought to stay on her hooves, Celestia's horn bobbing weakly in the air beside her before two of the Nightmares stepped forwards as several dangerous-looking tools lifted out of the chest behind them, both smiling calmly... And Luna grinned even as pain flooded through her own head, but it only made her feel alive as Scrivener lay, bound by magic in the circle of runes, his eyes half-closed in both pain and pleasure as streams of blood ran down Luna's own face from the base of her horn and Celestia's removed horn floated beside her, trembling in her telekinetic grip as she whispered: "It is a step towards perfection... a step towards greater glory..." She was barely aware when one of the Nightmares guided her around the circle so she could guide Celestia's horn forwards... she half-fainted from the pain when one of the Nightmares began to attach the roots of the horn into the base still in Scrivener's skull, as the poet gargled a bit in the glowing circle, but Luna laughed even through the agony, even as blood continued to drip along her features, her eyes glowing with insane, ravenous light as electricity sparked through her mane... and it seemed like minutes, not almost an hour, before Luna looked up and stared down at her husband as the Greater Nightmares all stepped away from the circle, the lethargy spell ending as Scrivener shivered in the mire... and then slowly looked up from beneath a splatter of blood as Luna licked her lips slowly in delight. An ivory horn gleamed from his skull... and when he rose his head, it was the face of a unicorn as mighty, as proud as she or Celestia had ever been. He gazed across at her, at the blood that smeared her features as she trembled a bit and grinned, breathing hard, the pain and pleasure making her feel insane and lightheaded, the feelings beginning to infect and twist into Scrivener's own body as he saw her... and saw himself through her eyes. And then Scrivener arched his back and flicked his horn upwards, and a blast of lightning erupted from it and into the ceiling, arcing violently back and forth between the magically-protected pillars and making him grin in delight as the Greater Nightmares stared in awe and Luna leaned back in delight, watching as a swirling blue-black aura shrouded Scrivener's horn before the white spire slowly began to turn ebony, with the faintest tinge of copper-crimson. Luna watched it awe as Scrivener rolled his head on his shoulders, his white mane swirling backwards before he grinned slowly. "If I was supposed to be weak after this little surgery... I can't wait to see what it's like when I feel strong again." "Do not stress thyself though, husband... the horn could be rejected or damaged, after all. Give it some time... it is not often a horn changes masters." Luna replied tenderly, and then she smiled slightly, glancing over her shoulder at the Greater Nightmares, who were all standing and looking eagerly over the two. "In time, thou shall all be rewarded. Rewarded... wonderfully. For thou has done admirably... as only I could trust thee to do. Yes, my beloved pets... Scrivener and I shall head up to our room, to sleep, to rest, to relax. Tend to Celestia. We shall call if we need thee." The Greater Nightmares nodded, then vanished one-after-the-other from sight, and Luna smiled in delight before her eyes roved to Scrivener, adding warmly: "The horn must adjust to thee, and thy body must adjust to the horn. But we are doing much better than I had expected... I feel a little... insane, perhaps, is the right word, but I feel good, too. Strong. We shall need time, oh, but I do not expect much. Because as I see... Celestia did give her horn with full willingness to us. We... we must do something for her. We must reward her as well." Scrivener nodded slowly, the two gazing at one another, their eyes meeting... and then widening in surprise at the power of the images, thoughts, memories that shot through one-another's mind, as if their link had become even stronger now. They both staggered a bit from the sheer force of it, and then stepped forwards... and when their horns gently touched, sparks sizzled between them, pleasure and emotion and so much more twisted between the two, and they both released gasps of delight before they gazed into one-another's eyes. For a few moments, they both breathed quietly... and then they leaned forwards, kissing firmly for a moment, feeling one another's pleasure, passion, tongues dancing and Luna almost whimpering in her throat as Scrivener breathed blue mist into her jaws and growled in delight... and then their mouths parted, heads dropping forwards as they nuzzled one another. Scrivener kissed slowly along the collar melded to Luna's neck as Luna buried her face against his throat, shivering in delight as she whispered: "Celestia has given us a greater gift than she knows. A far greater gift, yes... we will make her stronger, too. We will make her special." Scrivener only nodded slowly in response, not needing to speak as he closed his eyes before Luna slipped forwards, and they embraced tightly... two dark entities in the Garden of Enstasis, eager to delve into all the forbidden secrets of their kingdom of the night. And Scrivener's new horn gleamed blackly as Luna's collar almost glowed around her neck, a testament to the lengths the two would dare go for one-another's pleasure and power. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story